A. Field of the Invention
The Invention is a coil for a personal vaporizer for use in vaping. The coil contains and heats ‘concentrate,’ as defined below, so that the concentrate will boil to vapor. The coil of the Invention is longer lasting, more resistant to damage and easier to clean than the prior art coils. The Invention is also a heating element for use in a vaping coil and a personal vaporizer utilizing the coil of the Invention.
B. Statement of the Related Art
A ‘personal vaporizer,’ is a handheld electronic device that vaporizes a small amount of a fluid by boiling the fluid. The resulting vapor may condense to an aerosol within the personal vaporizer. A user then inhales the aerosol and vapor. Inhaling the aerosol and vapor produced by the personal vaporizer is referred to as “vaping,” which is the gerund form of the infinitive verb ‘to vape.’ The fluid that is vaporized in the personal vaporizer is known as ‘concentrate,’ ‘extract,’ or ‘e-liquid.’ For the purposes of this document, including the claims, any fluid that a person may wish to vape is referred to as ‘concentrate.’
The use of personal vaporizers, particularly to deliver nicotine, is enjoying exponential growth. Users generally view personal vaporizers as a safer alternative to tobacco cigarettes. The heating element of the personal vaporizer operates at a much lower temperature than the burning tip of a tobacco cigarette and so does not generate the products of combustion of a tobacco cigarette. In addition and unlike a tobacco cigarette, the contents of the vaping concentrate can be closely controlled to eliminate unwanted chemical compounds from the inhaled aerosol or vapor.
A personal vaporizer includes a ‘coil.’ As used in this document, the term ‘coil’ means an apparatus that is configured to retain the concentrate and to heat the concentrate to its boiling point. A current art coil for a personal vaporizer may include two quartz glass rods disposed within a ceramic cup. Resistance wires are wrapped about the two quartz glass rods. When a switch is closed, electrical current flows from a battery through the resistance wires, heating the wires, the quartz glass rods and the concentrate in the ceramic cup. The concentrate in the ceramic cup is in direct contact with the resistance wire and the quartz glass rods. The heating element heats the concentrate to its boiling point. The boiling concentrate produces the vapor, which then condenses to the aerosol.
The prior art coils cannot be effectively cleaned because the rods and wires within the ceramic cup are in direct contact with the concentrate. The prior art coils also are relatively short-lived and subject to damage due to the exposed location of the resistance wires and the overheating of the resistance wires as the concentrate boils away.